Picking machine



March 25, 1952 J, KAY 2,590,326

PICKING MACHINE Filed March 8, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Z1 18 v L- 2 f 5 a i Q Alena/2d [12m 5 IN V EN TOR.

A. J. KAY

PICKING MACHINE March 25, 1952 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed March 8, 1946 M X M w e A INVENTO R.

Patented Mar. 25, 1952 PICK ING MACHINE Arthur J. Kay, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application March 8, 1946, Serial No. 652,956

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in machines for picking and renovating the cotton, kapok, or hair taken from mattresses, pi1- lows, and similar articles.

It'is the object of my invention to provide a simple, inexpensive, and conveniently operable machine of the type referred to. The better mattress filling consists of the cotton, kapok and hair products above referred to, and I have found that the hair products are much more difficult to handle than the others. In view of this'it is the further object of the invention to provide a machine Y which, by simple adjustment thereof, may be quickly changed efficiently to handle any one of such products. To this end the invention resides in the combinations hereinafter fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a picking machine embodying the invention and with portions of the framing thereof broken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 2 is a substantially corresponding end view of the device with parts of the casing thereof broken away on line 2'-2 of Fig. 1 in order to disclose the interior mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the upper portion of the machine and is taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevational view of the machine taken on line 4--4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. dis a fragmentary view of the upper lefthand portion of Fig. 1 and including modifications, the importance of which is hereinafter fully explained.

In a frame I is hung a shaft 2, to which is rigidly secured a skeletonized drum 3 atone end thereof and a fan 4 is fastened to such shaft near the opposite end thereof. A motor 5 is placed at the bottom of the frame and it is fitted with a pulley 6 on which is hung a belt I. the upper end of which rides on a pulley 8 of the shaft 2.

The drum 3 is placed within a casing comprising a larger lower portion [0 and a smaller upper portion II. The latter is open at the top and is fitted with a hopper l2 through which the material to be picked is fed into the casing. A smaller casing 9 encompasses the fan 4 and a discharge chute l3 extends laterally from the lower portion of this casing. It is noticed that the center portions of the adjacent walls of the two casings are removed in order to provide free passage of the material from the drum casing through the fan casing and out through the discharge chute I3.

The drum 3 consists of a plurality of axial- 1y directed peripheral bars l4 having radially directed teeth projecting outwardly therefrom, and diagonally directed peripheral bars I5, I6, I! are placed therebetween to form around the periphery of the drum a network of ridges, the outer surfaces of which present rows of radially directed teeth which, when the drum is rotated at high speed and material is fed in through the hopper I2, tend to grip such material and carry it around with the drum in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow of Fig. 2. It is further to be noted that stationary bars l8, l9 are mounted on top of the machine frame adjacent the periphery of the drum to form sharp-toothed combs which, as the material commences to be carried around by the drum, tear apart and completely separate the material. In addition, I have found it preferable to place similar diagonally directed arcuate combs 20, 2| having contripetally directed teeth in the upper portion of the casing member H in order to make certain that the moving material is completely torn apart.

The revolving fan 4 creates suction through the drum casing sufiiciently powerful to draw theseparated material from the drum and to discharge it through the chute [3. It is important to note that the peripheral surface of the lower drum casing member I0 is provided with an opening in registry with toothed bars 14 to I! which opening is covered with a foraminous screen Ill in order to permit all heavy particles of dirt and other solid material to drop through the openings thereof as a lighter material is drawn by the fan through the discharge opening.

It is above stated that hair filler is more difficult to handle than cotton material because the strands of hair are much longer than the cotton or kapok fibers and so much more frangible. I have found that it is not always possible successfully to treat such hair material in the manner above described because the hair in its passage from the drum to the fan may become badly torn, but that it may be necessary to dispense with the suction created by the fan and to discharge the picked hair directly from the drum. In order in this manner to discontinue the service of the fan, I have found it convenient to place a plate 25 in the space between the adjacent end walls of the two casings, substantially as indicated in Fig. 4. It also becomes necessary at the same time to open the drum cas- 66" ing, the lower portion I0 of which, for this purthis manner, there is no difficulty in picking and discharging even the best and longest grades of hair.

It is necessary, in order to place the plate 25 on the shaft 2, to slit this plate radially, as indicated at 25 and as such slitting of the plate may in some cases be found objectionable for the reason that suction by the fan is not entirely eliminated it may be found advantageous in such cases to disconnect the fan from the shaft when the hair is to be picked, thereby to bring the fan to a standstill during this operation. Illustrative, of means for so disconnecting the fan from the.

shaft, I have in Fig. 5 shown the fan fitted with a sleeve 21 which is freely rotatable on the shaft, and teeth 28 are cut in one end of this sleeve for engagement with teeth 29 of a clutch member 30 which, in turn, rides on a feather 3! of the'shaft. A. clutch operating lever 52 is pivotally mounted on a bracket member 33 secured within casing 9.

I claim:

1. In a picking machine, a frame, a shaft rotatable in said frame, means for rotating said shaft, a picking drum rigidly mounted on the shaft, said drum comprising a network of annular diagonally and axially directed bars, teeth radially rising from said bars, a fan on the shaft adjacent said drum, a coaxial casing snugly encompassing said drum, casing comprising a stationary upper half portion having at the top series of arcuate centripetally directed teeth in close proximity to said drum teeth and having its lower half-portion hingedly secured to the machine frame, there being an opening in said lower half-portion in registration with said drum teeth, a screen covering said opening, a coaxial casing encompassing said fan, the adjacent casing walls having aligned passages therethrough, means seatable between said walls for controlling the said passages, a hopper on said drum casing for admitting material to said drum, and a discharge outlet from said 1 an casing.

2. In a picking machine, a frame, a shaft rotatable in said frame, means for rotating. said shaft, a picking drum rigidly mounted on said shaft, said drum comprising a network of annular diagonally and axially directed bars, teeth radially rising from saidbars. a fan loose on the shaft adjacent said drum, a coaxial casing snugly fitting the peripheral surface of the drum, said casing comprising an upper stationary portion and a lower portion pivotally hung on the frame, the casing having at the top thereof series of arcuate centripetally directed teeth in close proximity to said drum teeth, the peripheral wall of said lower portion of the casing being foraminous, a cover: encompassing said fan and opening into the space. surrounding the drum, a detachable closure for said opening, a discharge chute from said fan cover, and means for connecting said fan for rotation by said shaft.

3. In a picking machine, a shaft, a picking drum rigidly mounted on said shaft, said drum having teeth rising from the outer periphery thereof, a co-axial casing encompassing said drum, said casing comprising a stationary upper half-portion and a pivotally hung lower half-portion, arcuate centripetally directed teeth in said upper casing portion inclose proximity to said drum teeth, the hinged casing, member having an opening in the bottom portion thereof in registration with said drum teeth, a screen covering said opening, a smaller casing adjacent said first named casing, a fan on said shaft within said smaller casing, the adjacent walls of the two casings having aligned passages therethrough, detachable closure means seata'ble on the shaft between the casings to close the passages therethrough for discharge directly from the drum casing while the hinged casing member is in open position, a hopper for admitting material to said drum, and means for rotating the shaft.

ARTHUR J. KAY.

HEFERENSES The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,735,749 Goldberg Nov. 12, 1929 1,773,016 Swope Aug. 12, 1930 1,884,405 Van Rensselaer et a1. Oct. 25, 1932 2,134,312 Mudrick Oct. 25, 1938 2,397,586 Antoni Apr. 2, 1946 2,411,575 Kay Nov. 26', 1946 

